Mayank Yadav, who rose to fame by clocking 156kph in the 2024 IPL, made a comeback to professional cricket after nearly a year, regularly bowling over 145 clicks an hour during the clash between Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals.
Mayank made a memorable debut in 2024, impressing the cricketing world with his sheer pace. In his debut match, he bowled 155.8kph to raise expectations and stunning the audiences. That year, Mayank played four games, picking up seven wickets at 12.14 with an economy rate of 6.98, getting the attention of the national selectors, who picked him for the T20I series against Bangladesh.
He left an impact for India, picking up four wickets in three games, with an economy rate of 6.91, including hitting the 145kph-mark 12 times in his debut match. However, constant injuries restricted game time. His maiden IPL season was curtailed due to an abdominal issue, but picked up another injury at the NCA while recovering. Shortly after playing for India, Mayank injured himself again, and another back injury forced him to miss the first half of the IPL last year.
Another toe injury followed, following which he returned to play in the 2025 IPL, albeit with slower speeds. Misfortune struck again when a back injury meant he played only two games that season. He also did not play a professional game since, only making a comeback on Wednesday (April 22).
Mayank Yadav hits the speeds, but is expensive
Mayank’s speeds were the talk of the town as he bowled the seventh over of the innings against RR. The first three balls were above 140kph, and he nearly bowled 150kph on the first ball of his next over, though it went for a six off Shimron Hetmyer’s bat.
He eventually breached 150kph on the penultimate ball of the innings. Bowling to Ravindra Jadeja, Mayank sent down a length ball, which the batter sent to deep backward square for two runs. It was the fastest ball of the night for him, reading 151.1kph.
However, Mayank had limited success on the night. His four runs went for 56 runs, with the quicker balls, in particular, not troubling the batters. He bowled 14 deliveries above 140kph, which cost 38 runs, while only 10 runs were scored off the eight slower deliveries he sent down.
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